understand. but the people were getting out of the buses, jumping up and down and saying, "we did it, we did it." it was moments like that that are the high points. it is moments like that the are the high points. >> his book is called "radical." support for ssaul alinsky. -- saul alinsky. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> for a dvd copy of this program, call 1-877-662-7726. for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this

program, visit us at q-and- a.org. "q&a" programs are also available as podcasts. >> next on "prime minister's questions," dip the prime minister -- deputy prime minister nick clegg stands in for david cameron. following that, a colorado senate debate. tomorrow on "washington journal," a look at what congress plans to do before the november 2 election with david hawkings from cq. then, colin kahl and michelle

mello. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> but, honestly, i am not going to take this from a party, from a party, that has spent all of its time in office backbiting against each other through leaks to the press, a party of the dossier of damion mcbride. a little bit of consistency on this, shall we? >> now, from london, "prime minister's questions" from the british house of commons. ministers return after this summer congress -- summer recess. father had an's stroke, so nick clegg stood in.

some of been accused of tapping into celebrity voice mail. also, questions about the aid to pakistan flood victims. >> questions to the prime minister. >> mr. speaker, i have been asked to reply to the house may be aware that my right honorable friend, the prime minister's father, was taken seriously ill last night. quite rightly, he has traveled to be with his father and his family. i'm sure i speak on behalf of everybody in the house when i say we wish him, his father, and their family all the best at this difficult time. mr. speaker, i would also like to start by paying tribute to the brave servicemen who lost their lives over the summer since we last sat. they were corporal matthew stenton, lance corporal steven monkhouse, mark smith from 36

engineer regiment, lance sergeant dale, marine adam brown, john sanderson, rifleman raymond culong, darren foster from 21 engineer regiment, lance corporal bancroft. lance corporal joseph pool. captain andrew griffiths from second battalion. mr. speaker, each of these men were heroic, selfless individuals who have given their lives for the safety of us and the british people. nothing can ease the pain of the loved ones they have left behind, but their sacrifice

will never be forgotten. >> hear, hear. >> we also remember dr. karen wu who was killed while providing aid to afghan victims. we also remember a former polie officer who died august 7 whilst mentoring police forces in helmand province. the bravery of our servicemen and women, risking their lives daily to help the people of afghanistan, is both inspiring and humbling. >> mark pritchard. >> yesterday, they announced the laying off of 300 personnel. does the deputy prime minister agree that if it were not for the financial mess left by the last government that many of these jobs and indeed thousands

of other public-sector jobs across the country could have been saved? it is now left to the new coalition government to take the difficulty in sorting out the nation's finances. >> prime minister? >> mr. speaker, i certainly agree that the previous government has left us with an extraordinary legacy -- the largest deficit in our peacetime history. it was the previous government that took its eye off the ball and allow the banks to lend money irresponsibly. it was the previous government to wrapped up these extraordinary -- who racked up these extraordinary deficits year there were irresponsible in government and they are now living in denial in opposition. we did not just inherited a legacy of deficit, but of bureaucracy.

the chief constabulary pointed out in july that there were 2600 pages of guidance issued to police officers last year alone. he told us if there were laid end to end, they would be three times higher than the eiffel tower. we need less bureaucracy and more police on the streets. >> hear, hear. >> first of all, we need much less noise. i remind the front benches to enable as many back benches to participate as possible. mr. jack straw. >> mr. speaker, may i join the deputy prime minister in paying tribute to all those who have lost their lives serving their country in afghanistan since the house last met. we know that each one of those individuals left a family who are immensely proud, but consumed with grief for their loss. our thoughts and prayers with -- are with those families and their comrades and friends. -- and the comrades and friends of all those who have died. mr. speaker, i think all of us

had hoped that part of the opening of prime minister's questions would be an opportunity for us to express congratulations to mrs. cameron and to the prime minister on the birth of their new baby. of course on behalf of the opposition, we certainly do. but that, sadly, is tinge with the dreadful news about the prime minister's father. may i say on behalf of the opposition that i am absolutely certain that he has made exactly the right decision to be where he knows he has to be, with his father and his family, at this difficult time. mr. speaker, the prime minister, in may, brought andy into 10 downing street.

gentleman -- may i ask the right honorable gentleman, is he entirely satisfied that once he was editor of the news of the world at no time was he aware of any use of unlawful hacking and telephones? >> i am grateful for the words he said about the prime minister and the great news about the daughter. i of course will pass those on. as for the issue of phone hacking, he knows, as we all do, that this is a very serious offense. it is an outrageous invasion of privacy. it is right that two individuals were convicted and imprisoned. he has made it very clear that he took responsibility for something which he had no knowledge of at the news of the world and he refutes all allegations that have been made to the contrary. that statement speaks for

itself. it is now for the police and police alone to decide whether new evidence has come to light which needs to be investigated. >> straw. >> mr. speaker, that was not an answer to the question i put. the question was, is the right honorable gentleman entirely satisfied that, whilst he was editor of the new world, at no time was he aware of any use of unlawful phone hacking, yes or no? >> mr. speaker, he has made it quite clear that he had no knowledge. he refutes all of the allegations. while i, in a decidedly rushed manner was preparing for today, suspecting this issue might come up, when he resigned from the news of the world, the first person to call to commiserate was gordon brown. [laughter] he told him not to worry that he had done the honorable thing, and that he knew he would go on to do a worthwhile job.

>> jack straw. [laughter] order. members must calm themselves. i can imagine why there -- i cannot imagine why they are so excited. jack straw. >> in may of this year, his rival friend, the energy secretary said that, "mr. colson was either composite in criminal activity or the most incompetent editor in fleet street." which is it? >> deputy prime minister. >> my right honorable friend and i are in complete agreement that if you e -- if new evidence has come to light, the police -- and this is what i want and expect -- the police will not

actively look to see whether that evidence is worthy of further investigation. that is what the police are there for and what they should be doing. it was under the labour government that no further action was taken. it is their former home secretary who is making all sorts of pious remarks who decided not to involve the hmic, the director of prosecutions. the crown prosecution service decided not to take further action. if the police not think that new evidence has come to light, let them decide. >> jack straw. >> mr. speaker, the media select committee chaired by your honorable friend, said, "the evidence we find makes it inconceivable that no one else at the news of the world, bar mr. goodman, was aware of the activity of phone hacking." what does the prime minister know that the select committee does not know? >> the police now need to decide whether, in the light of

the new allegations that have been made, there is new evidence which requires further investigation. that is what the police are there for. i want them to get on with appier that is what i expect they should do. honestly, i am not going to take any lessons from a party that spent all its time in office back fighting against each other through leaks in the press, a party of cash for bridges, of damien mcbride. let's have a little bit of consistency on this, shall we? >> jack straw. >> so, mr. speaker, when the police have uncovered 2978 mobile telephone numbers of potential victims, the new york times has named his own honorable friend as a potential victim, does the deputy prime minister expect us to believe that the only person who knew nothing about phone hacking at

the news of the world was the editor, the very man who the prime minister was brought -- has brought into the heart of this government? >> deputy prime minister. what i expect he will believe is that it is now for the police to investigate whether these new charges and allegations have anything to them. that is what the police of their corporate does he want us to start second-guessing -- that is what the police are there for. does he want us to start second-guessing? we have a flood in pakistan. we have a war in afghanistan. he is inviting this government to second-guessed the police. i would think he would know better. >> hear, hear. >> duncan hames. >> thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday, a serving police officer was jailed for an

appalling assault committed in a police station in my constituency. whilst i believe that we can draw confidence from the brave officer who blew the whistle, does the deputy agree that the defendant officers should not continue on full pay? for more than two years after the attack? >> that the prime minister. >> we are deeply shocked to see the pictures of the offense which was perpetrated by the police officer. i'm sure i share people's dismay that action was not taken more speedily. however stressful the conditions are under which police officers were, it is absolutely essential that they uphold the very high standards of their own conduct in whatever situation. that clearly was not the case here. i'm glad that action has finally

been taken. i wish it could have been taken earlier. >> gregg mcclymont. >> the business secretary reaffirmed his commitment to the separation of high street banking from casino banking. does the deputy prime minister agree that this separation is essential to ensuring that the british taxpayer must never again have to bail out banks which are too big to fail? >> the deputy prime minister. >> mr. speaker, as he knows, there is a bad and lively debate about the relationship between retail banking and investment banking. the former chancellor has made his own views very clear from the front bench of his party that he does not believe there is a case for separation. the liberal democrats believe there should be a separation. there is a debate going on within government.

we have asked that sir john vickers should chair an independent commission looking at this. it will look at how we can ensure that there is safety and stability in our banking system for good. that was action not taken by the previous government. you look at the recommendations and then decide. >> john redwood. >> thank you, mr. speaker. in the last year, they spent 10,000 pounds for every man, woman, and child in the country, on current public spending, and given that it will go to allow the and thousand 500 in the coming years -- go up to 11,500 for current public spending in the next five years, doesn't it showed that the coalition government cannot get through without any damaging cuts to important services? >> deputy prime minister. >> mr. speaker, as he very well knows, the challenge of filling the huge black hole left to us by labour is indeed a very difficult challenge. one which has been recognized by tony blair in his recent book where he has said, if governments do not tackle deficits -- >> order! order!

i have not read the book yet. i want to hear what mr. blair has to say. >> if governments do not tackle deficits, this then increases the risk of a prolonged slump. if we fail to offer convincing path out of that, that will itself plunge us into stagnation. i agree. >> miss anne begg. >> they revealed that 54,000 children who live in households are already well below the poverty line and they will lose out as a result of the changes to housing benefits. the department of work and pensions on document revealed that 52,000 of pensioners will be up to 11 pounds on average worse off as a result of these changes. is this what the chancellor meant when he said his budget was tough but fair? >> the legacy we inherited was -- i know members opposite do not

want to hear this, but it is worth reminding people in the country at large that, after 13 years of labor bang, the united kingdom has the highest -- >> the deputy prime minister will be heard. there is far too much noise. members must restrain themselves and give the deputy prime minister a proper and fair hearing. the deputy prime minister. >> united kingdom now, after 13 years of labour government, has the highest numbers of children in households in europe. that is an absolute and shameful legacy. one thing that the previous government failed to do that we will do is create incentives to get people off the benefits and into work. that is the surest way out of poverty and the surest way we can look after those children who are abandoned and not looked after by the previous labour government. >> after the chinook crash on

the mull of kintyre, every during has found it impossible -- everitt inquiry has found it impossible -- every inquiry has found it impossible to attribute negligence to the pilots who died in the crash. may i thank the government for honoring the pledge made before the election to hold a review and ask our the independence of that review will be assured. >> deputy prime minister? >> i am acutely aware of his considerable expertise on defense matters and his longstanding interest in this tragic disaster and the circumstances around it. i am pleased to be able to confirm that we will be holding an independent review of the evidence on the mull of kintyre disaster. i hope that review will be welcomed by the families of those who died in this tragic accident. to ensure its complete independence, the review will be conducted by a respected lawyer who is independent of the

government and who is not -- has not previously expressed a view on the disaster. the reviewer and the precise terms of reference will be announced soon. >> gregory campbell. >> last month, he released a report on the bombing by the provisional ira were nine people were murdered. they concluded that the secretary of state and the roman catholic cardinal colluded to ensure that the chief suspect in the bombing, also a roman catholic priest, was transferred to the irish republic, rather than be brought to justice. i will wish to raise the matter directly with the prime minister. will the deputy prime minister join with me in calling for the catholic church to apologize for their part in this to the surviving members? the provisional members of the ira, including the deputy minister.

i understand that he confirmed that he visited the suspect priest as he lay on his deathbed 30 years ago to declare all that they knew about one of the worst atrocities in northern ireland's troubled past. >> my right honorable friend, the secretary of state for northern ireland made a full apology on the 24th of august on behalf of the government. the government is profoundly, profoundly sorry that he was not properly investigated for his suspected involvement in this hideous crime at the time and that the victims and their families have been denied justice. i do want to reiterate that, although after the attack the government acted wrongly in not insisting that he be properly investigated, it was terrorists who were responsible for this despicable and evil attack which took innocent lives, including that of an 8-year-old girl. my right honorable friend has made clear that a public inquiry is not being considered

on the grounds that it simply is not likely to have further evidence to consider. we have cooperated fully with the investigations, making all papers available, and the historical increase team is investigating the case. in the interest of transparency, the government has published the only document it holds referring to discussions about the father. >> andrea leadsom. >> does my right honorable friend agree that it is vital that the government honors its pledge to equitable life policyholders and uphold the findings of the ombudsman? >> deputy prime minister. >> mr. speaker, i certainly agree with my honorable friend. we are absolutely committed to bringing justice to the equitable life policyholders, people who work, frankly, shamelessly, shamefully betrayed, year after year by the previous government. we have published a bill on

this. we have taken the recommendations from sir john chadwick, which we will consider. we will create independent mechanisms by which justice is finally provided to the policyholders who were so shamefully overlooked by the previous government. >> joan walley. >> does the deputy prime minister have any qualms at all about coalition government's 2010 budget which took 2000 front-line workers out of jobcentre plus? in june this year, there were less people at work this year than one year ago. will he make sure that the comprehensive this pending review gives the front-line staffing resources at jobcentre pluses the benefits that we need to get people off the streets and back into work like he just said? >> i agree that the most important objective is to

increase incentives to work. in that same budget, we increased the personal allowance by 1,000 pounds, taking close to 900,000 people out of paying any income tax altogether. we did take measures to protect the vulnerable and the elderly. we dramatically increased job tax credits. we provided a triple-guaranteed to pensioners so that their pension will increase by 2.5% by inflation or by earnings. of course it is easy in opposition to deny any responsibility for the mess we're in. i simply ask her and her colleagues, does she have any qualms about the fact that her party and her government announced 44 billion pounds worth of cuts, but never had the decency or honesty to tell the british people where they would fall? >> nick de bois. >> thank you, mr. speaker. given the number of deserving cases such as that of my constituent andrew, a 21-year- old man who was extradited to greece well over a year ago under the european arrest warrant, who has spent over 10

months in jail and still does not face the prospect of a trial date, would you agree with me to commit the government to review this legislation, this very troubling legislation, and would he agree to a meeting with the parents as a matter of urgency with his -- with himself or the prime minister? >> i would more than welcome that meeting. either with myself or the prime minister. we are all aware of the concerns about the way in which the european oppressed ward works. i understand the minister for europe has met with his parents and the four and commonwealth office and would be willing to do so again. this is in the context of legal concerns about our extradition arrangements, not only with the

european union, but with united on, but with united states as well. that is why my right honorable friend the home secretary has announced today that we will be reviewing the uk's extradition arrangements in the round. a review will focus on the operation of the european arrest warrant and what the united states and united kingdom extradition treaty is unbalanced or not and whether requesting states should be required to provide prima facie evidence to us. >> is the deputy prime minister aware today is my birthday? [laughter] if i tell them how to pay for it, would he agree to give me a present of a couple of aircraft carriers? none of your foreign rubbish. i want the british ones. i do not want to have to share them with some french blokes. if i have it monday through wednesday and they have a

thursday through saturday, we would have to to get the permission of the child-support agency if we wanted to make changes. this could be paid by cutting out see the european union. would you agree? -- cutting out things to the european union. >> mr. speaker, of course want to congratulate him on his birthday. i am delighted to see his enthusiasm for things european has not mellowed with age. i'm very happy to give him a gift, whether it is a gift quite in the size and shape that he is requested, i am afraid i cannot oblige. >> sheryll murray. >> some people into the country and receive nhs treatment but they do not pay their bill. they apply for another be set to come back again. is this fair? will the government stop it? >> my right honorable friend is right that when it comes to the nhs, fairness is one of the founding principles. we must retain that principle. where there are people who have

rightly likely been given care by the nhs, because they provide care to everybody on the basis of need, if, however, they are supposed to make a contribution and the escape the obligation to do so -- we do need to look at measures to make that possible. that is what we're working on and will come forward with announcements soon. >>nick dakin. >> what would the deputy prime minister say to one of my constituents to find a oliver hard work and community action will come to naught as the government cuts the moneys promise to her neighborhood group for their much needed play builder skiing? she cannot understand why the referendum has no actual mandate and is irrelevant will go ahead at cost of 100 million pounds that could be better spent on communities like hers. spent on communities like hers.